


On Stolen Time

by TaikoTurtle



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F, Kimberly centric, Language, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Time Travel AU, at least somewhat, but she'll get her head out of her ass, eventually, kimberly POV, kimberly is in denial, some sass, trimberly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-06 14:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11602650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaikoTurtle/pseuds/TaikoTurtle
Summary: When Kimberly gains mysterious time traveling abilities, she decides to use it to her advantage. She can repeat the things she likes or redo the bad parts of her day to sway them in her favor. The sky is the limit, because she's got all the time in the world now, right?But she soon comes to find that nothing comes without a cost and not everything can be fixed.





	1. A New Lease on Life

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the time traveling AU that nobody asked for! It's based off of a popular anime movie, so if you've seen it, you'll probably catch on to the rough plot that this will be revolving around.
> 
> As always, please feel free to add constructive comments and reviews! Enjoy

Senior year is supposed to be a time to relax, to coast through your classes and generally take it easy. They say that by now, if you don’t have your grades in order and all your extracurriculars in place, then you’re pretty much shit out of luck. You’re supposed to tour prospective campuses in the summer, get all your letters of recommendations, start filling out those impossible resumes with ridiculous embellishments to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack even though everyone is doing the same damn thing. There’s so much stress involved, and half of that occurs even before the final year begins.

These are all things Kimberly is well aware of, but if anyone had asked her back when she started high school “hey, where do you see yourself in your senior year?” it would definitely _not_ be at the bottom of a cliff in a secret, underground lair with a ragtag group of kids more different from one another as night and day.

Becoming a Power Ranger catapulted Kimberly down a path of the infinitely unknown because there’s no such thing as preparing to become a Ranger.

There’s no wiki-how about dealing with the death of your friends - even if it was temporary - nor is there a cheat sheet on how to come to terms with the fact that the rest of your life will never be the same. It’s just a constant crash course every single day and when she wakes up in the morning, life just says _good luck_ and sends her on her merry, ignorant way. She’s learned to cherish every waking moment because each breath she takes could very well be her last.

It’s not all that bad though, Kimberly reminds herself, since she doesn’t have to go it alone.

On that fateful day, she met her second family and nothing’s ever been the same since. They’ve gone through hell and back and though they’re people she’s never imagined she’d ever be friends with, not even in a million years, now she can hardly picture her life without them in it.

Jason, their fearless team leader who, in spite of the odds stacked against them, rose to the challenge and brought them together to defeat Goldar and the frightening Rita Repulsa. He truly fought for what was right and in the end proved to be worthy of the Red Ranger suit.

Billy, with his eye for detail and desire to do good, revealed himself to be not only the brains of the group but also the heart. He figured out where the crystal was before anyone else even knew where to begin, but only surrendered that information once his friends’ lives were in danger. He died for them once, and if the time ever comes, they’d all die for him.

Zack, the wild card of the gang, puts on a cocky charade with swaggering bravado, but really masks the fear and worry that burdens his shoulders regarding the wellbeing of those he loves. Whether it’s his friends or his mom, it’s the things he can’t control that wind up controlling him, but he tries not to dwell too hard and instead focuses on doing what he can to keep them safe.

And that leaves Trini.

Trini…

How does Kimberly even begin to describe Trini? She’s a mystery wrapped in sarcasm and shrouded in a constant air of unpredictability. From the get-go, Kimberly could never tell if the other girl liked her or not. Okay sure, tricking her into falling down the ravine _might_ have got them started off on the wrong foot, but how else was she supposed to convince her to follow the group?

Kimberly likes to think that it all worked out for the better because now they’re practically inseparable. They’ve come such a long way since their cautious, standoffish beginnings. From spending hours upon hours training together, to their near-death experience with Rita, and even their doughnut dates together at the Krispy Kreme there's nothing that...

...Wait.

Date?

No, not a date.

At least, she doesn’t think they were.

Things with Trini are somewhat… complicated. Since their time together bonding around the campfire and all but confirming Trini’s sexuality, Kimberly notices small, insignificant details that normally would fly under the radar but now... not so much.

It’s at times when Trini’s hugs linger just a little bit too long, or when Kimberly catches glimpses of Trini’s gaze when she thinks she isn’t looking. It’s the times when Trini saves a snack specially for her and nobody else, which typically garners a complaint from Zack, or the quiet moments they spend alone together without the boys around.

Kimberly can never tell if she’s reading too much into things or if it’s all in her head - she also wonders why it even matters.

Other times, Trini just wants to be alone and that’s fine too. She says the isolation helps her clear her mind, helps her focus on what really matters in her life. Nobody knows where she goes; sometimes it’s into the woods, sometimes it’s down by the rivers. Occasionally, she asks Kimberly to sit with her up on her favorite mountain near the quarry.

They don’t always talk. There’s a certain comfort that they derive from simply being in each other’s presence, so words aren’t necessary. At first, Kimberly doesn’t get it. She always thought that talking through your problems is the best way to get through them, but she’s learned that everyone copes in different ways and Trini is best left at her own pace. When she wants to talk, she talks. When she doesn’t, she won’t.

So Kimberly sits and waits with her, no matter what, silently without judgment. It’s always just the two of them, but that’s what Trini prefers and Kimberly never seems to mind it.

And that’s how their summer goes.

Eat. Trini. Sleep. Repeat.

They see each other nearly every day, whether it’s because they’re training at The Pit or hanging out outside of their regular Power Rangers time. Kimberly can’t picture her life without her newfound best friend, so the prospect of college and the looming question of their future after high school strikes fear into her heart.

She doesn’t want the team to break apart or disband, but how does that even _work_ _?_ There’s no rulebook on this, no precedent to follow. It’s not like the Rangers of old had to worry about something as trivial as school when they were out keeping the world safe from mortal danger.

Would they all have to stay in Angel Grove for the rest of their lives?

Are there other Power Rangers spread across the globe?

Can anybody else learn their secret? Can they even start a family?

Family… Kimberly thinks about what that might mean to her and the first thing that pops into her mind are the Power Rangers. When she tries to imagine beyond that, nobody else pops into mind. There’s no room for boyfriends in her life; they would just become a liability. They’d become a target who can’t protect themselves and Kimberly doesn’t think she can stomach the thought of lying to her significant other for the rest of her life.

Unless the other person is a Power Ranger themselves, it just doesn’t seem feasible. Maybe all the Rangers who came before had lead lonely lives, or stranger even, perhaps found solace in another on their team. Now _that_ would be convenient. No need for lies, no call for secrecy - just a relationship built on trust and an even deeper bond thanks to being a Power Ranger.

Kimberly almost laughs to herself because who on her team would even be possible for that? Jason? No. Billy? Nope. Zack? No way. Trini?

…

… Trini?

_Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz CLUNK!_

“Ouch!”

Kimberly clutches her forehead gingerly and groans in pain at the throbbing sensation radiating out of where her alarm clock smashed onto her head. She reminds herself to not keep the plastic demon so close to the edge otherwise she'll run the risk of it happening again.

Wait.

She did that for a reason.

Her eyes snap open and she snatches the alarm in a blind panic, the numbers mocking her in a bold, red display. 7 _:46am._

“Shit!"

Kimberly falls out of bed in a heap and her eyes scan the closet in desperation. Grabbing a faded maroon V-neck and her favorite leather jacket, she starts hopping around on one foot as she jams a leg into a pair of denim fitted jeans. She dashes into the bathroom to quickly wash up but skips breakfast altogether knowing that she still has a good ten minute bike ride ahead of her.

Throwing on a pair of boots, she hops onto her bicycle and speeds out the front yard in a hurry. Purse flailing at her side and her hair whipping wildly from the wind, Kimberly races through the streets of Angel Grove at a frantic pace.

She flies past stop signs, burns through red lights, and at one point nearly knocks a kid over. There’s the Krispy Kreme blurring by on her left. Now she’s passing by the local recreational center where teens like to hang out at after school. The frame on her bike wobbles and she wonders if she should pull over and check it out, but she shakes her head and reminds herself that she can’t be late again.

She blows by another few blocks before coming to a screeching halt by the train tracks that runs through the city. Like clockwork, the train passes through the main road that she takes to get to and from school. The street itself slopes up into a steep uphill climb so getting to school in the morning is a pain, but going home is easy enough since she just has to brake before reaching the bottom. It’s one of the few hills in the entire city, and it’s just her luck that she has to traverse it everyday.

Her feet tap out an impatient rhythm against the pedals as the train goes on for another thirty seconds. She’s still glancing at her watch when the safety blockers slowly raise up, but then once it’s all clear she slams her feet down and makes her way up the hill.

Though her legs feel like jelly and she’s sweating a little more than she’d like, the school comes into view and she slides to a stop near a jam packed bike rack. Her tires skid and a jarring, grinding noise emits from her bike, but she has no time to spare so she chains it up and runs through the double doors, hoping she isn’t too late.

The new school year has barely just begun. With only a couple weeks in, Kimberly still somehow managed to be tardy almost three times so far and her first period teacher isn’t having any of her shit.

“Please don’t be late, please don’t be late.”

Her boots clack against the ceramic floor as she rounds bounds up the stairs two at a time before rounding the corner and bursting through the door. She’s met with a couple of stunned looks, but for the most part everyone goes back to their chaotic chatter and Kimberly checks her watch just to make sure

_8:02am_

Even though she’s late, if the teacher isn’t there then it doesn’t count. She breaths a quick sigh of relief and heads over to the back of the classroom where she sees Zack and Trini in a heated discussion. Zack’s waving his hands, making large sweeping gestures, and Trini’s responding with a sour, offended look. Kimberly smiles at the adorable crinkle that forms in Trini’s brow whenever she frowns and the way her mouth twitches when she’s ready to fire off a witty retort. She loves the way Trini somehow looks cute even when she’s angry.

Dropping her bag to the floor, Kimberly flops lazily onto the chair and listens in to their conversation.

“You’re delusional!” Trini growls in frustration. “Toilet paper should go over, not under. What’s wrong with you?”

“Um, _nothing_ is wrong with me because the roll should obviously hang under, not over; it’s just common sense.” Zack throws his arms up before turning his attention to Kimberly. “C’mon, help me out over here.”

Her eyes flicker between the two, but Kimberly shrugs her shoulders casually and starts to pull out her notebook. “Sorry Zack, but I’m with Trini on this one - the roll always goes over.”

“A- _ha_!” Trini points her finger triumphantly and Zack shakes his head.

“Totally unfair. You have me outnumbered. We both know Kimberly always takes your side.”

“Hey, I do not,” Kimberly sputters, “it just so happens that Trini is right a lot of the time.”

“Hell yeah I am.”

Zack grumbles loudly, “Ugh, don’t encourage her!”

Before Trini can crack another joke, the doors fling open and the teacher comes striding in with his messenger bag and a stack of fresh papers in hand. There’s a wicked smile on his face as he addresses the class.

“Do you all know why I was late today?”

Per usual, nobody cares to respond.

“Well,” he clears his throat and approaches the first row of students, “I just got finished with photo copying these papers and guess what? It’s your first pop quiz of the semester!”

There’s a collective groan from the students and the teacher laughs.

“I hope you all did the reading I assigned last week? If so, this’ll be a piece of cake.”

Kimberly pales.

No, she did not do the reading; this will _not_ be a piece of cake.

Of course the teacher only gives them fifteen minutes to complete the test, and of _course_ he decides that they should grade them on the spot immediately afterwards so they can see their instant failure. They all pass their tests behind them and grade the next person’s pop quiz, and Kimberly is not at all surprised when her paper is handed back to her with horrendous marks peppered across the page like angry fire ants.

A terrible wake up call topped off by a surprise test. Could it get any worse?

Kimberly has to stop asking herself that because things _always_ get worse.

Lunch time rolls around and she’s craving a slice of pizza, but seeing as how her class right before break is halfway across campus and up a couple flight of stairs from the cafeteria, everyday is an absolute race to get in line. Kimberly starts shoving her notebooks and pencils back into her purse, ignoring the heated glare that her teacher throws in her direction that screams “I dismiss you, not the bell” but Kimberly doesn’t give two shits. She knows what she wants, and she doesn’t want to miss out.

But luck has other plans today and as she rounds one of the corners at full speed, she completely misses the wet floor sign and slips unceremoniously to the ground with a resounding _thud_. Her papers spill out of her bag and all over the floor in a flurry and she wants to scream because she doesn’t have time for this nonsense, but she pulls herself off the floor and starts to collect her belongings as quickly as possible.

There’s a burning sensation in her face from embarrassment as the mocking laughter of her fellow students rings in her ears and for a second she’s brought back to last year.

Ugly Bitch. Liar. Whore.

Those were all labels slapped on her against her will, and at the time she felt that she deserved it. She did a terrible thing, and though she’s tried her hardest to move past it and become a better person, she never really can forget that feeling of contempt that her ex-friends so relentlessly directed her way.

Kimberly likes to believe that she’s a new person - _a better person_ \- now that she’s had time to grow and acknowledge her massive mistake. She understands that she can’t undo the pain she’s caused and while her old friends still want nothing to do with her, it doesn’t hurt as much as it used to because Kimberly has a new support system that constantly reminds her that she is loved.

So she snaps to her senses and blocks out the jeering laughter long enough to quickly shove everything back into her bag, but it doesn’t matter because it’s too late.

By the time she finally reaches the cafeteria, there’s no more pizza.

She stares blankly beyond the glass displays and sees nothing but soggy burritos and other unappetizing selections. Sighing with defeat, Kimberly loads her tray up with whatever she can and joins the rest of the Rangers at their favorite table in the lunchroom with a sad, dejected look on her face.

Billy takes a bite of his apple and tilts his head curiously. “Something the matter?”

Her tray slams against the table and she buries her head in her hands, heaving with exasperation. Trini takes one look at her spread of food and pats her back knowingly.

“Looks like _someone_ was a lazy ass and couldn’t get herself a slice of cheesy goodness.” Trini chuckles bemusedly before ripping off a piece of her own pizza and placing it on Kimberly’s tray. “Don’t worry, I got ya covered.”

“Aw, isn’t that sweet,” Zack says in a mockingly saccharine manner while shoving a handful of peanuts into his mouth. “Why don’t you ever save me food, hm?”

Trini flicks a potato chip at his face. “You’re just a bottomless black hole that sucks up everything in a ten mile radius. I save her food because I know you’ll just eat it otherwise.”

“I’m deeply offended. How else do you expect me to keep up this awesome body? These muscles don’t grow themselves you know.” Zack flexes dramatically to make a point and Jason shakes his head with embarrassment.

“Why am I friends with you guys.”

Billy leans in close and whispers to him secretly. “Because we’re all Power Rangers.”

Jason can’t help but break into a crooked smile and he nods his head in agreement. Billy takes another bite out of his apple and grins in return, but a loud, sudden shout nearby catches everyone’s attention.

“Gimme all your money!”

“Yeah, or he’s going to end ya!”

The resident bullies of Angel Grove High, Bulk and Skull, are towering menacingly over a small, scrawny kid. They’re the dynamic duo of trouble, with Bulk gaining that nickname for a reason thanks to his tall, massive stature, leather jacket, and greasy slicked back hair. Skull, the loyal sidekick, is heckling from behind and resembles a lanky rat more than anything.

“If you don’t fork over your money, then I’m going to smack down a world of hurt on you!” Bulk repeats louder, cracking his knuckles in the process.

Speechless and shaking to the bone, the smaller boy cowers in fright, unable to utter a single word.

“Alright, you asked for it.”

Bulk lunges in and smashes his fist into the poor kid’s shoulder causing the boy to cry out in pain. He drops to the floor almost instantaneously and Bulk starts kicking him like a downed puppy with each new strike punctuated by a yelp from the boy curled into the fetal position.

Other students look on and do nothing while some simply look away, but Kimberly notices Jason’s clenched fist and knows that he can’t stand by and watch while someone is getting hurt.

He pushes off from the table and strides over to the bullies, his fists still clenched and his jaw set tight with anger. Tapping on Bulk’s shoulder, the guy barely has time to turn around before Jason’s fist collides with his face and then there’s blood _everywhere_. Bulk crumples to the floor, his hands covering his nose as he howls loudly, but it definitely looks broken and there’s absolutely nothing he can do to save it.

“Pick on someone your own size, jerk,” Jason spits out his words with disdain.

It’s almost a heroic moment and the cafeteria nearly erupts into cheers, but a nearby school proctor comes rushing to the scene and grabs Jason gruffly by the arm. “You’re coming to the principal’s office, _now._ ”

“What?” Jason exclaims indignantly. “This guy was bullying him, why am I the one who’s in trouble?”

“I didn’t say he wasn’t,” the proctor nods towards Bulk before tightening his grip on Jason’s arm, “but that doesn’t mean you're off the hook.You’re in just as much trouble, boy.”

Jason narrows his eyes as he stares down the proctor and Kimberly silently pleads for him not to make the situation worse. The old Jason might’ve ran off or done something entirely irrational, but leadership has a funny way of changing people in small, minute ways, so he just scoffs and snatches up his backpack to follow silently all the way to the principal’s office.

Billy watches in horror as Jason’s figure disappears from the lunch room and Kimberly utters what’s on everyone’s mind.

“I hope he doesn’t get detention again.”

Except that’s _exactly_ what happens. She finds out near the end of the day that Jason’s slapped with a two day suspension and three week’s worth of detention for breaking Bulk’s nose so badly that he might actually need surgical repairs. His father is threatening a lawsuit against both the school for letting it happen, and Jason’s dad for raising such an unruly child.

Kimberly figures that this has to be one of the worst days she’s had in months. As soon as she woke up that morning, late to school and frazzled beyond reproach, she should have taken the hint and just stayed at home in her cozy bed, but no, she just had to be a good student and show up to class. Attendance is overrated.

The school bell rings signaling the end of the day and Kimberly heads towards a group of trees near the front of the school to meet up with Trini. The smaller girl once joked about how the trees looked like a bird spreading its wings, almost like Kimberly’s pterodactyl Zord, so the sentiment stuck and they’ve designated it their meeting spot ever since.

Standing idly beneath the tree’s shade, Kimberly pulls out a pair of earbuds and listens to some Guns ‘N Roses to pass the time.

 

Kimberly’s hands are drawn to the tree trunk and hover over the endless amounts of initials carved into the bark for posterity’s sake; some of the pairings are still going strong while others are crossed out in a desolate fit of rage. Her fingers ghost over the rough initials of “T + K” and her lips tug up into a faint smile. 

_“You’re so lame.” Kimberly remembers telling Trini when she first saw the girl etching their initials into the tree towards the end of last year before summer had let out._

_“Hey, us girls have to stick together,” Trini responded without missing a beat, “this’ll be a reminder that we always got each other’s back.”_

_“I don’t need a sappy reminder on a tree to know you’ll always be there for me,” hummed Kimberly in response._

_Kimberly snuck up and grabbed Trini from behind before pulling her into a tight hug with her arms wrapped around her shoulders and chest pressed up against Trini’s back. It was warm and familiar and it became one of those moments again. She felt Trini relax into her body with a carefree sigh and Kimberly’s hug loosened into a comfortable embrace and they stood there, staring at the freshly-carved letters and it suddenly struck her as to whether or not the letters meant something more beyond the guise of friendship._

_Was she reading into it too much like she always did? Was it her hoping for something?_

_But then that begged the question: if it was the latter, then what was it exactly, that she hoping for ?_

_It shook Kimberly to the core and given a couple of more seconds she would’ve pulled away in fear, but Trini laughed heartily and smoothly removed herself from Kimberly’s grasp. Whether Trini sensed her uneasiness or purely had impeccable timing, she essentially spared Kimberly the trouble._

_“Nice pun, genius.”_

_“What?” Kimberly’s brow furrowed in confusion._

_“Sappy reminder?” Trini’s eyebrow arched up. “Initials carved into a tree? Sap? Tree sap?”_

_“Oh, yeah. Totally.”_

_“...You had no idea, huh?”_

_“Whatever. Go back to carving, Picasso.”_

That particular moment beneath their tree is a fond memory that Kimberly cherishes close at heart because while her old friends came into her life and exited just as quickly, Trini crashed right in and settled on a whole other level. She can’t explain it, really, it’s more of an emotion, a primal vibe, that resonates in her heart without reason. Kimberly feels it when Trini smiles, she feels it when her laughter rings in the air, and she feels it when they touch because every little contact shoots sparks of electricity through her limbs that she simply can't ignore.

It’s definitely an emotion which no word can describe; certainly not by a specific four-letter word.

At least that’s the lie Kimberly tells herself anyways.

“Where is Trini? She’s usually here by now.” Kimberly mutters to herself as she tears her attention away from the initials on the tree and scans the area before checking her phone.

No new messages and no Yellow Ranger in sight.

So where is she?

A glimmering light flickers on the ground and grabs Kimberly’s attention. She looks down and realizes it’s not a light, but rather a reflection, so she bends over to get a closer look.

It’s a gleaming, gold coin with a peculiar lightning bolt emblazoned on the surface. The shimmer is mesmerizing, almost as if it’s a swirling mass of metallic liquid like a glittering contained galaxy, but just as she kneels down to pick it up, a random stranger bumps into her from behind and Kimberly falls to the ground.

Her hand lands on the coin as she tries to break her fall but then she feels like she’s going to throw up because her world turns _absolutely upside down._

She feels like she’s free falling.

Her eyes are wide with shock because where the fuck is she? There’s neon lights and cogwheels and numbers flying by at the speed of light and she feels like she’s being flung out of space, hurling towards the earth in a spectacular fashion like a meteor burning up in the atmosphere.

She feels like a spectre, flying through the skies transcending beyond space, beyond universes, beyond even time itself, and it’s such a bizarre feeling, which is saying something because she’s a freaking Power Ranger. Just what in the _hell-_ -?!

Her lungs are _on fire_ and the wind is borderline unbearable, but within seconds she’s hitting the grass back in reality with nothing but a bruise on her forehead to show for the surreal out of body experience.

The random stranger is looking at her oddly with a chagrined look. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

Kimberly nods and waves them off with her hand signaling that everything is alright, but as she looks back at the dirt she notices that the coin is missing.

“What…?”

_Bzz Bzz_

Pulling out her cellphone, Kimberly sees the text that something came up and Trini can’t meet at the tree, so she shoots her a quick _ok_ and gathers her belongings into her arms. She walks over to her bicycle and starts unchaining the lock, pinching herself just to make sure that she’s not trapped in a dream.

What _was_ that?

She could’ve sworn that she was falling. The world around her looked like something out of an alternate dimension, but she’s pretty sure she’s still in Angel Grove and nothing looks too out of the ordinary.

Pedalling at a leisurely, distracted speed, Kimberly takes her regular route back home, turning corners and passing by the usual landmarks completely on autopilot. Stopping at the top of the hill, she looks around to see if she can notice anything malicious, something peculiar - an outlier of sorts - but as she looks from left to right, nothing immediately jumps out at her.

There’s a tabby cat hopping out of a trash can with a half-eaten fish in its mouth. A young mom juggling a bag of groceries in one arm and holding her five year old’s hand in the other is struggling to keep everything balanced against the decline of the hill. An orange falls out and rolls away but the mom just sighs and accepts defeat. There’s two teenage boys rough housing outside of a storefront but before the owner can shoo them away, they knock over a stack of books and one of the covers rips off of a particularly thin paperback.

Nothing seems weird.

Kimberly has seen weird and it was in the form of a massive golden monkey with wings, blown up to the size of a skyscraper. Weird is waking up one morning and finding out that you’ve become a fucking superhero overnight. No, a mom and her kid is nothing weird at all, nor is a stray cat.

She starts descending down the hill and enjoys the fresh breeze on her face. Maybe that’s all she needs. Yeah, a nice nap, maybe a glass of water, and some time to breathe. Today has been a roller coaster of events so maybe she’s just… mentally strained.

The safety lights flash to life at the bottom of the hill and the tell tale signs of the approaching train signal bright and loud for everyone to take heed of. Kimberly hates the damn train because for one, it reminds her so much of their first night out at the quarry and how she distinctly remembers getting smashed to smithereens. She has all the memories of dying, but like all the other Rangers, somehow ended up safely in her bed without any fuss. None of them really discussed it any further than that because the memory is too vivid and far too painful.

Secondly though, the train is a nuisance more than anything and has delayed her many times on her way to school. Now it’s just delaying her from her much needed nap, so she grumbles to herself and presses on her brakes.

_Click click._

...

Nothing happens.

_Click, click, click._

Kimberly jams both hand brakes furiously but nothing is happening and she’s gaining more and more speed.

“No. Nonono, _shit._ ”

She slams her feet against the ground, her heels skidding painfully across the asphalt to try and slow down, but the momentum proves to be too much. The flashing lights and safety sounds chiming ahead of her brings her back to that moment the night before they became Power Rangers and her muscles seize up.

Just jump off your bike, she tells herself, just _jump_ \- but her mind goes blank and her body refuses to listen.

The bells and lights are blinding in all respects and she can't tell what's real anymore.

A train horn blares nearby.

No, scratch that.

It’s blaring right _next to her._

She’s collided with the safety bars and realizes that she was bucked off her bike straight through the air right over the tracks. She's at the mercy of the train, but being thrown into the air leaves little for her to work with. Nothing to grab on to, no person to snatch her back to safety.

If she knew that this would be her last day, if she knew that this was how it would all end, then maybe she would’ve spent her time a little differently. Perhaps she would’ve tried harder to wake up on time, maybe bothered to actually study for her class like she should’ve. Hell, it would have been great to see her friends one last time.

To see _Trini_ one last time.

She pictures her best friend’s smile because oddly enough, that’s the final thing she wants to have burned into her mind before she finally leaves this world. Kimberly closes her eyes and braces for impact, hoping it will be quick and painless.

But it never comes.

She’s still floating.

Now she’s falling.

She’s _falling!_

Kimberly opens her eyes and she’s soaring through that bizarre dimension of multi-colored lights and steampunk-esque interconnected cogwheels, everything blazing past her a mile a minute. It’s like she’s falling through a slipstream of a visual representation of someone’s acid trip and her limbs flail around but she can’t grab a hold of anything solid.

She tries to scream but no words leave her throat and she realizes there’s no sound at all. Why is this happening to her--?!

_THUD_

The first thing she notices is the searing heat burning her cheek. Muffled whispers and excited voices jumble in her foggy brain and Kimberly realizes that they’re whispering about _her_.

“Hey miss, are you alright?”

Kimberly struggles to open her eyes and realizes her cheek is on fire because she's face down on the asphalt at the _top of the hill._

She sits up in a silent stupor and looks at the strangers staring at her with concern. She was down at the bottom of the hill, she was about to die; this can't be real. “H-how. I thought- I was just--”

“Miss, you fell off your bike for no reason. Are you having a heat stroke?”

“N-no, that can't be right. I was…”

Kimberly’s words are cut off as her attention shoots to a nearby yelp of disappointment and she notices that the same single mom from before just dropped an orange onto the ground. It rolls down the hill just as a familiar tabby cat hops out of a trash can and runs away pleased with the leftover fish in its mouth.

This impossible.

She turns to look at the bookstore to confirm her suspicion and the two boys from before go crashing into the display right on cue with the stack of books tumbling to the ground in a disorderly heap. The cover tears off of the same book from before and Kimberly almost screams.

She’s not dead.

_She’s gone back in time._

 


	2. In Your Face, Zordon

_How is this possible?_

Kimberly shakily pushes herself off the ground to stand up, the worried bystanders now going back to their business after seeing that she’s not seriously injured. She stares at her bicycle in silent shock, unable to comprehend the events that just transpired.

Time travel is ridiculous - everybody knows that. It’s a fool’s errand that people can only fantasize about because who wouldn’t want to alter their own fate? It’s a concept you hear about in theory but never in practice because there’s no scientific evidence to prove that it exists. The thought of it just seems downright far-fetched and entirely absurd - but then again, so does the idea of becoming a Power Ranger.

Her hand closes shut before opening slowly and she wiggles her fingers one by one.

Nothing feels different.

She feels fine - better than fine, in fact. If this isn’t a one-time deal then Kimberly has a powerful new weapon to add to her arsenal. This can be a game changer which will help the Power Rangers out in the future against their enemies if she can learn to harness it, but first, she needs answers.

Picking up her useless bike, Kimberly walks back home and leaves it in the garage before heading to the Command Center on foot. If anybody can solve this problem, it’ll be Zordon and Alpha.

Well, that’s what she thought anyways.

“Time travel? Impossible.”

So much for Zordon and his infinite knowledge.

“How exactly is it impossible?” Kimberly asks, the irritation clear in her tone. “You’re an ancient alien stuck in a hi-tech wall projecting as a giant face; a year ago I would’ve said _you_ were impossible.”

“I get where you’re coming from, but in all of my years spent in the universe before you came around, not once have I witnessed someone with the abilities to traverse space and time itself.”

“You’ve been stuck in this Command Center for centuries though! Maybe technology has progressed since then.”

Alpha scurries on over to her and shakes his head, “Unlikely. I perform daily downloads of all information spread throughout the globe so if this phenomena had occurred before, then we would know about it.”

“But… so… what happened to me then?”

Zordon’s avatar pivots on the wall, his blocky digital face pinching as he scrutinizes her closer. “Are you certain you didn’t just imagine it?”

Kimberly’s nails dig into her palm and her jaw clenches tight. _No Zordon you dick, I did not make this up_ is what she wants to say because her blood pressure is skyrocketing through the roof, but she bites her tongue and settles on taking his knowledge - or lack thereof - at face value. Even though he’s lied to them in the past, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for him to now, so she lets out an annoyed huff and starts walking away.

“Thanks for your help.”

Her footsteps echo loudly in the metallic chamber as she leaves the Command Center, her thoughts more jumbled and chaotic than before.

Who else would even know about this? Jason may be their leader, but clearly if Zordon knew nothing, then neither would he. In fact, this might not even be related to the Power Rangers at all. What if she just coincidentally stumbled across some alien artifact? The probability of that doesn’t seem very high, but it’s a possibility that she can’t rule out, and if that’s the case, there’s only one other person who might have an inkling of an idea.

Billy Cranston.

He’s probably watched more sci-fi movies than all of them combined, and even if he might know nothing of it in real world applications, at least he might have fictional theories that can shed some light on the situation. Whipping out her cell phone, she hits his number on the favorite contacts list and waits for him to pick up.

After a couple dial tones, his friendly voice buzzes through. “Hey Kimberly, what’s up!”

“Hi Billy. I know this is kind of sudden, but do you mind if I come over and talk to you about something?”

“Uh, am I in trouble? B-because I swear I tried to tell Jason not to--”

“What? No.” Kimberly pinches the bridge of her nose and waves her hand. “No, no you’re not in trouble or anything. I just need help with something and I’d like to hear your opinion about it in person. Is it alright if I come over right now?”

“Yes that’s fine. Oh - but are you planning on staying for dinner too? I need to tell my mom first. She doesn’t like it when I invite people over and she feels like there isn’t enough food.”

Kimberly smiles and shakes her head. “No, hopefully this won’t take too long.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

“Bye.”

She hopes Billy can help. He may not be an expert on supernatural subjects, but quite honestly Kimberly has no idea who else to turn to now. Zordon was her first obvious choice, but seeing as how even he seemed stumped, a sense of foreboding spread within her.

Maybe these powers held terrible consequences? What if it chopped off years from her life? What if she ruined the timeline and ended up destroying something later down the line? What if somebody died everytime she--

 _Stop_ _it;_ that’s just insane paranoia. For all she knows, it was only a single anomaly and life will go back to the way it was.

After a quick, brisk jog, she finds herself at Billy’s doorstep with only a light layer of perspiration on her brow. Her knuckles rap against the dark fine wood and Billy’s mom opens the door, her face brightly lit up with a beaming smile.

“Hi Mrs. Cranston.”

“Hi Kimberly! Billy told me you’d be over.” She waves her hand over and points towards downstairs. “He’s in his room.”

“Thank you.”

She passes through the door, heads through the main living room, and then makes her way downstairs to Billy’s room. It feels like a converted garage more than anything, with its wide open space, cement floors, and wooden walls but it has character thanks to the shelves lined with model figurines and large workbench with unfinished projects. She spots Billy sitting cross-legged on the ground with a bunch of tiny electronic parts and circuit boards scattered around him in an organized chaos.

“Hey Billy.” Kimberly descends the final steps and plops her purse onto his vacant chair.

He doesn’t respond at first. He’s rubbing his chin contemplatively while mumbling to himself, his eyes darting left and right as if connecting the dots in his mind to what comes next.

“Billy?”

The second time breaks through and after looking up from his work, he waves hello.

“I was trying to piece together a new form of communication for us.” Billy gestures to the small metal parts strewn about. “You know how smart watches are all the rage? I got to thinking, why not us too? Some kind of way for us to reach other. How cool would that be?”

Kimberly’s brow furrows slightly. “You... mean a cellphone?”

“Well yeah, but a watch,” Billy repeats himself and taps his wrist. “A smart watch that can call each other _and_ reach Zordon at the Command Center.”

Kimberly’s eyes widen and she breaks into a smile. “Oh my god, that’s genius!”

“I know, but just say that again once I get it to work. Anyways...” Billy claps his hands and rubs them together with anticipation. “...what'd you wanted to ask?”

“Um…” Kimberly sits down on the floor beside him, her gaze downcast and serious. “So… this might sound a little crazy, but… do you believe that time travel is real?”

Billy bites his lip before parting his mouth, as if ready to say something, and then it shuts. He brings his hand up and taps his chin a couple of times before proceeding thoughtfully.

“If you’re talking in relation to the concept of time travel and Einstein’s theory of relativity, then yes I guess it’s feasible. I’ve read how it’s easier to move forward than it is backwards though because traveling faster than the speed of light is impossible a-and you would have to--”

He shakes his head and waves his hands to backtrack on his mounting excitement.

“--I guess what I’m trying to say is this: is it physically possible with current technology? No. However finding those Power Ranger coins seemed illogical yet here we are, a group of really awesome superheroes, so I wouldn’t rule it out completely.”

Kimberly digests the information sullenly and studies her hands again. Was Zordon right? Maybe she _did_ just imagine it.

“Hypothetically speaking,” she starts hesitantly, “what if I went back in time several seconds. Is it possible to do it again, and if so, what triggers it?”

Billy’s head tilts to the side, regarding her oddly. “You time traveled?”

“Yes - I mean, no. Well, I don’t - I don’t really know.” Kimberly rubs her temples and feels a headache coming on. “It felt so real, but Zordon didn’t believe me and now _I_ don’t even believe me.”

“Okay, so let’s go along with your hypothetical scenario then.” Billy stands up and motions for her to rise with him. “If you went back in time, do you remember what you were doing right before it happened?”

Kimberly gulps and her mouth goes dry.

“I… I’m pretty sure I died.”

“YOU _WHAT?!”_

Billy’s exclamation explodes out on reflex before his hands whip up to cover his mouth in surprise, his head nodding over and over while he tries to regain his composure. “I am so, so sorry - I did not mean to scream that loud. Good news is, I assure you that you are definitely not dead because I'm looking at you with my own two eyes.”

“Okay so what? I need to die again?” Kimberly laughs darkly, but the thought of repeating that horrible moment sends shivers down her spine.

“No - don't go dying please. I like you living, thank you very much.”

“Fine, then maybe it wasn't death; perhaps it was pain,” Kimberly says as she recalls the oncoming train. “It was blunt force trauma that would’ve done me in, so come on - hit me.”

“What?”

“Billy, just punch me as hard as you can.”

“No way, I can’t do that.”

“Just pretend we’re training or something.”

His face contorts reluctantly and she sees him debating whether to follow her request. “...As hard as I can?”

Kimberly nods and widens her stance to prepare for impact. “As hard as you can.”

She shuts her eyes and braces herself. Would this even work? Maybe she has to concentrate or something. Think back to a spot in time that she wants to go. Wait, what if it’s random and she has no control over it at all? What if it sends her back decades into the past and she gets stranded--

_WHAM!_

Billy’s fist collides with her face right above her left eyebrow and any worries she had go flying out the window along with any other coherent thought. She’s stunned and for a moment she can’t even gather her wits about her, but then her brow starts pulsing with white hot pain and she can already feel it tenderly swelling up.

She opens her eyes and finds that she’s staring straight at Billy’s curious, expectant expression. “Did it work?”

“Ow! Billy what the heck! You didn’t have to punch my face!”

“But you said as hard as I can.”

“Yeah, and I thought you were going to punch my stomach or something.”

“Your instructions weren’t very specific.”

He’s got a point.

Kimberly rubs at the welt gingerly, feeling a little bit of blood beneath her fingertips, before flashing him an apologetic smile. “Fair enough. I guess we can eliminate pain from the equation.”

“What else happened?”

Thinking back to that moment, the seconds flash by in Kimberly’s mind and all she can remember is being launched off her bike before experiencing that weird sensation.

So maybe pain wasn’t a factor to begin with.

She doesn’t actually remember getting hit. There was no impact, no blistering pain; she went flying off her bike and wound up back at the top of the hill. Her eyes drift towards Billy’s staircase that leads back up to the main floor and she wonders if she’s just grasping at straws now. It’s a wild idea, but it’s worth a shot.

Picking up her purse along the way, she walks up a couple of steps and turns around to face Billy who’s observing with silent intrigue. Okay, just a small jump, just a little, tiny, couple feet from the ground leap. Closing her eyes, Kimberly takes a deep, calm breath before exhaling slowly.

“Here goes nothing.”

Kimberly’s thinking about earlier that morning as she jumps off the staircase. She muses about how it would be so great if she could just fix it all, from her damn test to Jason’s suspension. If she’s able to pull this off, then the possibilities are endless. She wonders how many lives she’ll be able to save or how much trouble she can prevent in the future.

Then she realizes she still hasn’t hit the floor.

She’s falling through that colorful vortex of neon lights and floating mechanical pieces and it reminds her of Billy’s room, except she’s flying by at unnatural speeds and it’s a huge sensory overload. There’s too much to focus on and bizarre sights whiz by her at breakneck speeds, but she doesn’t even care because it worked; it actually worked! Her body feels like it’s being tugged through a portal and she wonders how to know when to stop, but then her head collides with something solid and her journey comes to an abrupt end.

All at once, the bright lights and passing cogwheels vanish and she finds herself face down on a cold, grey floor with animated chatter buzzing up above her. Kimberly’s head is throbbing and it feels like she just slammed into a truck, but she wills her eyes open and notices that the ground looks awfully familiar.

Firm hands rest on her back and forearm and it’s then that her favorite voice cuts through the ambient noise to grace her ears.

“You alright there? You tripped pretty hard.” Trini helps Kimberly steadily stand back up, her expression soft and worried before warping with concerned alarm. “Hey, you’re bleeding.”

“Huh?”

Still fuzzy and disoriented, Kimberly blinks rapidly to clear the haze fogging up her mind and she studies her surroundings. It appears to be her first period classroom; all the students are exactly where she remembers them being save for Trini standing right in front of her instead of discussing toilet paper with Zack.

In fact, she’s standing _awfully_ close to her. So much so, that she can smell the crisp apples from Trini’s shampoo mixed with the light scents of juniper and jasmine and Kimberly suddenly can’t concentrate on anything else.

It sounds so lame because it’s shit that only happens in the movies where one person is stunned into a dumbstruck stupor and unable to think. Kimberly used to scoff at the notion, thinking that that would never happen to her in real life because who is so inept as to get tongue-tied around another person? It’s just not a thing that happens! However after meeting Trini, all her preconceptions and prior beliefs of infatuation shattered like glass because lately these days, she finds it happening more often than not.

Not once has a boy rendered her speechless. She’s always been one step ahead, in control of the situation, in control of her emotions, in _control of herself_ , but anything regarding Trini has her flustered beyond belief.

She’s the first person to throw her off her game by keeping her mind on constant red alert and it’s absolutely maddening. From the simplest actions like a lighthearted chuckle or sharing looks with one another when the boys aren’t paying attention, Kimberly forgets how to breathe.

The fact that Trini has this humbling, enthralling, and powerful effect on her shakes her to the very core unlike anyone before. Kimberly doesn’t know if she likes girls; she’s never thought about it before - never had to - until she met Trini, but standing here in front of her best friend right now like they’re the only ones in the room...

The jury’s still out.

Trini brings her hand up and gently brushes away the small smidge of blood from Kimberly’s temple, her thumb stroking soothingly along her skin. Kimberly feels herself being pulled deeper under her spell with each touch and she finds herself not wanting to fight it.

“Want me to take you to the nurse’s office?”

Kimberly’s eyes are glazed over and unfocused, her response coming out muted and lax. “Hm?”

The door slams open, startling the other teenagers and causing both Kimberly and Trini to jump apart in surprise. In walks their teacher holding a stack of papers and an odd sense of déjà vu washes over her.

“I’ll be fine.” She flashes Trini a smile and settles down in her desk. The smaller girl nods hesitantly but ultimately acquiesces without another word.

“Do you all know why I was late today?”

Of course. The damn pop quiz that she failed so miserably at earlier that day, except now she has a second chance because she went and leapt back in time. Literally.

Time leaping sounds like such a foreign concept in Kimberly’s mind, however there’s a feeling of triumph pooling in the pit of her stomach because _in your face, Zordon_ \- it most certainly is possible. She’s a living testament to the feat, and though she’s still getting her bearings on the situation, she knows exactly how the day is going to play out.

“I hope you all did the reading I assigned last week? If so, this’ll be a piece of cake.”

Kimberly grins because even though she failed to do the reading, it doesn’t matter one bit and for once she appreciates the fact that they had graded it that same day. The papers pass down the row, each student looking grim and horrified save for the few who actually completed the assignment.

Once instructed they flip the tests over and sure enough, it’s precisely as she remembers.  

They’re given the same fifteen minutes as before but Kimberly blazes through it in under five, which garners her various incredulous looks from her peers ranging from anger to awe and envy. She’s smiling smugly to herself and catches Trini staring at her with disbelief, unable to comprehend the fact that she finished so quickly. It’s not like Kimberly is terrible in school, but Trini had spent the whole week with her and knew for a fact that she didn’t do the reading.

“One-hundred percent?!” Zack nearly screeches after the pop quizzes are finished and graded. “That test was insane!”

“Not for me,” Kimberly gloats proudly while staring at her perfect paper.

“I thought you didn’t do the reading,” Trini mentions more as a statement than a question. She peers over Kimberly’s shoulder and scrutinizes her test, but fails to see anything out of the ordinary.

“I guess I’m just that good.”

“Yeah… sure.” Trini doesn’t seem all that convinced, but she doesn’t press the issue.

The rest of the class proceeds without a hitch along with Kimberly’s other periods. She revels in the feeling of knowing what’s going to happen next and can see why people would love time travel as super power. All she needs to do is think about where she wants to go and leap; it’s as simple as that.

Her last period before lunch rolls around and as Kimberly packs away her belongings into her purse, she recalls the puddle near the corner outside. The bell rings and the students mob out the doors like ravenous hyenas racing towards their next meal. Kimberly shoulders her way through the crowd and spots the slick section on the ground, but in doing so bumps into a girl pretty hard causing the other girl to stumble.

She whips her head around and Kimberly groans internally because it’s Amanda and upon recognizing who it was that had bumped into her, Amanda’s expression sours instantly and Harper, who’s walking beside her, follows suit.

“Watch where you’re going _Kim_.” Her name is spat out with particular vehemence. “We don’t want your backstabbing ways rubbing off on us.”

Two can play at this game.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Kimberly holds her arms out and nods her head. “You know what? Ladies first.”

They eye her suspiciously, wondering what’s gotten into her because they haven’t been civil since _the incident_ , but then shrug dismissively at her and walk ahead.

Straight into the massive puddle.

All the other students had made an effort to avoid the wet floor, but after being distracted by Kimberly the pair of friends step directly onto it and they both go slipping to the ground in a tumbling heap. Their notebooks fly up into the air before landing with a soggy _plop_ right next to them, the papers absorbing the liquid and getting rumpled in the process.

They’re both too in shock to register what just happened, but the rest of the student body bursts out into raucous laughter at their misfortune.

Walking up next to the fallen duo, Kimberly crosses her arms and smirks. “Whoops - _my bad._ ”

She departs without a second look back. Kimberly won this round and it feels good, and since she never fell in this timeline and thus didn’t have to spend time picking up her scattered items, she makes it to the lunchroom with plenty of time to spare. There’s a small line of kids waiting in line, but the food is fully stocked and Kimberly’s choices are significantly larger than before.

The lunch worker plops a fresh hot pepperoni pizza down onto her waiting plate and Kimberly heads over to her friends with broad grin spread across her face.

“Someone’s smiling like they just got laid,” Zack snickers mischievously. Trini responds by flicking a potato chip at his face, which he promptly picks up and pops into his mouth.

Trini face contorts into a look of disgust before turning her attention to Kimberly. “How’re you doing? Is your forehead feeling better?”

“Yeah, I feel fine.” Kimberly runs her fingers along the bruise on her brow and though it’s still swollen and tender to the touch, the blood has long since dried up. Her appearance has been the last thing on her mind the entire day thanks to the commotion brought on by time traveling, but she figures she should clean it before her next class.

“What happened? It looks like someone punched you or something,” Jason points out.

“Punched? What? No, th-that’s ridiculous, I just uh…” The words fumble clumsily in Kimberly’s mouth because in all honesty she has no idea what it looks like when she leaps through time, but Trini comes to the rescue by interrupting with her own recount of the event.

“She tripped pretty hard in first period and hit her head.” She takes a small bite of pizza and nudges Kimberly with her elbow. “I’m not even sure what she tripped on because it looked like she went flying through the air. I haven’t seen anyone fall that hard since the incident with Zack and the arcade palace.”

“Which we do not speak of!” Zack interjects heatedly before crossing his arms in a huff. “That DDR machine was old and you know it!”

Collective laughter rings in the air save for Zack, who’s still grumbling dejectedly as he takes a sip of his orange juice, and the moment is almost perfect, but the sudden shouting of Bulk and Skull draws their attention away.

“If you don’t fork over your money, then I’m going to smack down a world of hurt on you!”

The group turns to face the ruckus, along with the other students within earshot, and watch as the two bullies of Angel Grove corner the unlucky target of the day. Kimberly’s attention darts to Jason, who’s already stood up from the lunch table, and she barely has time to react. Pushing off from the bench, she ignores Trini’s _what are you doing_ and quickly strides over to their leader with one goal in mind: prevent his suspension.

Frightened like a mouse in a trap, the boy frantically looks to Jason for help, but just as he’s about to intervene, Kimberly grabs his arm and pulls him back.

“Jason no, don’t do anything,” she implores with urgency in her tone and he stops dead in his tracks.

“What?” Jason frowns quizzically because they’ve never been ones to back down before, so why now? But he hasn’t seen the future and he has no idea what’s in store should he let his fists fly, so Kimberly shakes her head and pleads once more.

“Just let it go.”

Jason’s eyes flicker from her to the boy then back to her. He shakes his head again wondering why there’s the need to hold back and refrain from stepping in.

“ _Please_ , just trust me.” Kimberly’s clutching his arm and makes the foolish decision of looking at the cornered kid. The realization starts to sink in that there’s nobody coming to his rescue and he stares helplessly into her eyes as Bulk and Skull descend upon him like a pair of rabid dogs.

He cries out as each kick nails him in the ribs and each punch lays waste to his head and stomach. They’re all over him. There’s blood dripping from his nose and bruises forming near his eyes and Kimberly tears her gaze away because she knows this is her fault. She makes eye contact with him once, his eyes burning into her soul before he’s eclipsed by the bullies and their aggressive assault.

_But I didn’t have a choice!_

She knows that the kid will never hear her say that and he’ll never know her reasoning behind the decision, but Kimberly rationalizes that it was either him or Jason and she has to do what’s best for the team.

But it doesn’t make her feel any less shitty inside.

Her gut wrenches at the sight of the kid crumpled on the floor knowing full well that it was her doing that lead him to be there, but the proctors arrive on the scene and pull the bullies off of him. He appears to be unconscious with nasty injuries littering his body and Kimberly wonders if it really was worth it or if it’s even her place to be making these calls.

“To the principal’s office with you two!”

The proctors drag Bulk and Skull away and a couple of nearby teachers help take the beaten up student to the nurses office.

Jason glances at Kimberly, his expression a muddled mixture of confusion and disappointment. “Why did you stop me?”

She meets his gaze but she can’t find the words to respond. It was a selfish decision born out of a moment of weakness justified by the thinly-veiled excuse of protecting her friends. Kimberly thought she had grown to be a better person and that her experience as a Power Ranger had taught her to fight for the greater good.

Apparently she’s still got a ways to go, because when showing her true colors to the rest of the world, they’re still not deserving of the color Pink.

Kimberly’s focus shifts from Jason to Trini and then to the rest of the gang and guilt washes over her like an icy cold torrential rain that chills her to the bone. This isn’t who she is. This isn’t who _they_ are. They’re Power Rangers now, they’re sworn to defend the world and all of the people who inhabit it - Jason had it right. They should have jumped in to help the student, suspension be damned.

Jason takes her silence as an apology of sorts and shakes his head. He turns around and marches back to their table leaving Kimberly standing alone to fester with the consequences of her actions.

The lunchroom falls back into a quieted buzz as they discuss what they witnessed, but it isn’t until Kimberly feels a hand on her shoulder does she somewhat snap out of her self-loathing.

“Hey,” Trini offers. It’s quiet and comforting and more than she deserves.

Kimberly’s shoulders tremble and her lip quivers as she restrains the remorseful flood of emotions from spilling out.  

“It’s not your fault,” she says.

“Yeah,” Kimberly chokes out bitterly, “it kind of is.”

“Look,” Trini starts as she turns to look Kimberly face to face, “I’m not saying I understand why you did what you did, but you weren’t the one that beat that kid up - it was all Bulk and Skull.”

“But I shouldn’t have stopped Jas--”

Her sentence is cut off by a tight hug and Kimberly melts into Trini’s arms. People are whispering all around the cafeteria and Kimberly can’t tell whether it’s about the fight or about them because Trini doesn’t _do_ hugs, but she couldn’t care less. It doesn’t make the guilt go away, but Trini’s hugs are pure magic and it’s enough to temporarily dull the ache in her heart.

Trini’s head rests against the nook of Kimberly’s neck and Kimberly briefly wonders how selfish of her it would be to time leap back to this moment over and over again.

“It’s not your fault,” Trini reiterates calmly, “what’s done is done. You can’t go back and change it, so just… stop moping and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Except the power is within her grasp. All Kimberly has to do is make the leap.

But what then?

Play God again and mess with everyone’s lives? What if she somehow wreaks havoc and an even worse fate befalls them? It’s an unknown variable that she can’t take a chance on, so she puts that train of thought to rest and decides to let the rest of the day play out.

Kimberly notices that they’re still holding each other in the middle of the lunch room and the whispers are now _definitely_ more than likely about them, but if Trini doesn’t care then neither should she. Besides, their bodies fit together so well and Trini’s even breathing and loose grip around her waist acts like an anchor for Kimberly, keeping her calm and grounded amidst the chaos of her tumultuous ruminations.

Trini has a knack for knowing just what Kimberly needs and that’s why one of her reassuring embrace works more wonders than tired words, but the school bell rings loud and harsh, and the pair are forced apart.

Looking up into her eyes, Trini flashes Kimberly a charming, crooked grin. “Catch ya later after school?”

“Of course.”

Their gaze lingers a breath longer and an odd, sudden urge to kiss her on the cheek nearly drives Kimberly to do something irrevocably stupid, but she beats that temptation down into submission and stows it away in the darkest recesses of her heart.

Friends don’t just platonically kiss their friends. Well, maybe _some_ do, but that makes life significantly more confusing, especially since in her case, it might give Trini the wrong impression.

Except Kimberly doesn’t even know _herself_ what impression that would be because navigating the labyrinth of her heart is easier said than done. Something to sort out at another time and another place. You know, cross that bridge when she gets there.

Maybe she’s just confusing proximity with affection; she’s considered it before. They spent so much time training together and as a team to defeat Rita that, in addition to their entire summer being spent attached at the hip, Kimberly reasons with herself that maybe her feelings are being influenced by an overdose of Trini. Like an addiction that’s unbearably intoxicating at its peak, but when stripped away becomes nothing more than a fleeting afterthought.

Or there’s the possibility that it’s not just a side effect of proximity and is genuinely deep affection -  _that’s_ more terrifying than any foe they’ve faced because it’s an intangible monster she’s not mentally equipped to deal with just yet.

Kimberly clears her throat and walks backwards to retrieve her purse. “Y-yep. After school.”

Thank god she doesn’t have every class period with the smaller Ranger because there’s a ninety-five percent chance that Kimberly would never end up graduating.

The rest of her classes drone on uneventfully but it’s a welcome change to the minor catastrophes that plagued the later half of her day. Kimberly heads outside as the sun hangs wearily in the sky, saved by the bell, and approaches their tree. Her eyes scan the ground where the mysterious golden coin once rested, but much to her surprise it’s nowhere to be found. It catches her off guard because if she leapt through time then it should be here.

Kimberly’s phone buzzes and pulls her out of her inner reverie. Her eyes scan Trini’s message and remembers that she couldn’t make it. Kimberly’s about to shoot a text back saying that it’s okay and that she’ll find her own way home, but images of her soon-to-be broken bicycle flash through her mind and her fingers hesitate over the illuminated screen.

On second thought....

**Hey T. can you give me a ride home? Bike is busted**

The bubbly ellipsis wiggles at the bottom of her screen and the response is nearly immediate.

**sure give me 15 min.**

Leaning against the trunk of the tree, Kimberly locks her phone’s screen and watches the students leave campus one by one. They look carefree and happy, able to live out their high school years like a normal teenage kid and a pang of jealousy twists in Kimberly’s chest. A couple of years ago, her only worries were boys, grades, and one day being prom queen.

Such petty trifles.

She has the weight of the world on her shoulders now, with real threats and mortal danger, but she takes solace in the fact that at least it’s shared amongst her four other friends so she doesn’t have to go it alone. Kimberly’s forever grateful for meeting the Power Rangers and even though it was under particularly unique circumstances, to some degree it must’ve been fate. Not everyone jells well together and even though they got off to a rocky start, the whole team complements each other well.

Amanda and Harper power walk in the distance towards Amanda’s car with wrinkled clothes and bags that look less than pristine. Kimberly snorts to herself because the look on their faces was priceless at the time, but a part of her wonders if she should’ve just been the better person and warned them beforehand about the puddle.

Hate is a vicious circle that only begets more hate, but like Trini said, the past is in the past, so Kimberly figures that she’ll just live with the consequences for now.

A group of freshmen dicking around on the sidewalk push one of their friends and he goes tumbling to the ground, falling right near Kimberly’s feet.

“You alright?” She offers her hand to help him up and he accepts it albeit with a furious blush spread across his face. It was the stranger from before who had bumped into her and ultimately lead to falling on the coin.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” he babbles out hastily as his friends barely contain their snickering from afar. Fleeing back to his friends, his hands cover his face in embarrassment and they all hoot and holler excitedly.

“Oooh Mike talked to an older girl. Score!”

“Did you get her number?”

“That’s the most action you’ll ever get!”

Kimberly rolls her eyes at their antics before a loud car horn blares nearby.

“Hey Princess, your chariot awaits.”

Trini’s old, beat up Toyota Camry with oxidized champagne paint rolls into view and Kimberly breaks into a smile. She saunters on over and yanks on the door handle a couple of times before it finally creaks open. Plopping lazily onto the fuzzy, worn seats she rolls down the window with the manual crank to let the breeze inside and then they’re off.

The car lurches forward a couple of times at sporadic intervals and Trini mutters under her breath as she smacks the dashboard as if it would do any good, but they eventually leave the parking lot in one piece.

“So what held you up after school?” Kimberly asks as she turns to watch Trini. Her hair is whipping wildly in the wind and she’s sporting a pair of sleek, dark aviators. She very much looks the part of resident badass of Angel Grove, but the hunk of junk car that she drives somewhat diminishes her suave factor.

If she had a motorcycle though?

Kimberly’s pulse surges quicker and the blood in her ears pounds like a rapid crescendo as a vision of Trini in a leather jacket leaning against a graphite black Honda Rebel pops into her mind. Her hair is blowing perfectly in the wind like an honest-to-goodness shampoo commercial and Kimberly licks her lips because her mouth is feeling dry as a desert. She’s absolutely pathetic but goddamn if it isn’t the hottest thing she’s pictured in awhile.

“I was looking for something but couldn’t find it,” Trini says casually as she puts on her blinker to change lanes. “What’s wrong with your bike?”

“Broken brakes. I’ll just leave it at school for now while I decide what to do with it.”

“How do you plan on getting to and from school?”

“Eh, haven’t thought it through yet. I’ll figure something out.”

Trini turns a corner and clears her throat.

“I could pick you up in the morning if you want.” She tries to throw it out there nonchalantly but her voice cracks a little and Kimberly turns to face her. Trini’s expression is obscured and hard to read thanks to the large aviators and her normally superb ability to mask her emotions.

Kimberly reminds herself that Trini’s offering to do this because she’s just that kind of friend. She would do this for Jason and the others too if they were in need - Kimberly isn’t necessarily special - but the fact that Trini refuses to look at her even while hiding behind the shield of her sunglasses speaks volumes in itself.

Sure, maybe she is doing it simply because Kimberly asked.

Or maybe she’s doing it _because_ it’s Kimberly who did the asking.

Putting her arm out the window and feeling the warm breeze kiss her skin, Kimberly smiles to herself and nods.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with it so far! I swear more Trimberly stuff will be happening soon. Thank you for your patience :)

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to hit me up on tumblr too :) [Taikoturtle](http://taikoturtle.tumblr.com/)


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